Philippians 4:23: The Grace Of The Lord Jesus Christ Be With Your Spirit

Philippians 4:23
[23] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (ESV)

Here we are at the very last verse of Philippians. Paul ends this letter in a very similar way that he ends all of his letters. Sometimes the way that a person ends a letter is just as important as the way he begins. As we take a closer look at this last verse consider that Paul's words were for the church at Philippi, but they are also for you and me.

GRACE:
Of all of the things that Paul could leave us with grace is the most significant! The Philippian church, like many churches at that time, was infiltrated with "Judaizers." These were people who felt that the way of salvation could not just be a way of grace. There had to be works of the Law included. Paul spent time in this letter refuting this heretical notion. He ends by reminding them of the need for grace.

LORD JESUS CHRIST:
If we have a need for grace, and we do, then it is imperative to know the source of that grace. It is our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his amazing gift we have access to know God as our Father. Without Christ we can only know God as an agent of swift and eternal wrath. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins stops us from being destroyed and invites us to an eternal, loving relationship with God.

SPIRIT:
Our spirit needs to be saturated with the grace of God. Because of his indescribable gift to us (2 Corinthians 9:15), we are able to be an agent of grace to others. I fear that we often fail to take grace to the next level. We enjoy being recipients of grace but are hesitant to offer it to others. Those who have received much should give much. We have received an immeasurable amount of grace. We need to offer it freely to others.

Paul's closing words ring true for us today. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.